Based off Labyrinth with David Bowie. You'll be missed.
When she first noticed it, she thought it was a trick of the light, a small being that stayed right on the edge of her vision and was always out of sight. It was another thing about Gravity Falls that she never thought she would understand, but something was different about this. It bothered her more than anything else had before.
It became more prominent after a couple weeks. A shuddering little feeling, a flash of shadow that looked like something else other than it really was. Mabel almost didn't react anymore as she felt the otherworldly presence so close.
Bringing it up to Dipper proved no results. He was so absorbed in his new research that he didn't notice her worry. His nose was always buried in a book, whether it was the journal or something else that Great Uncle Ford had given him. Dipper easily brushed off her concerns.
"It hasn't tried to hurt you, has it?" Dipper asked suddenly, placing down the book about aliens and taking a couple bites of breakfast. Mabel shook her head, no longer having an appetite as she felt the familiar shudder run down her spine.
"No, it hasn't." She spoke quieter now. The presence seemed to move behind her, but when she glanced behind her there was nothing there.
"Then don't worry about it. Talk to Grunkle Ford if it bothers you. He always knows what to do." Dipper picked up his book again and left Mabel at the table.
Mabel bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to talk to Grunkle Ford about it. She wanted to forget this ever happened. She wanted to be left alone. Rising from her place, she threw away the old food and started to wash the dishes.
The presence stayed there, watching her as she did them. Mabel pretended that it didn't exist.
So ended the first summer of Gravity Falls. It was eventful, and while Mabel didn't want to grow up, she also didn't want to stay in the town where eyes were always watching her. What scared her most was how she didn't seem to notice it anymore, how she would forget that something was watching her until a sudden breeze sent a shiver down her spine or when her hair stood on end for no reason. Mabel was happy to see the summer end, even if she would complain about not being able to see her friends.
The rest of their summers were almost the same. Monster hunts, days spent at the local pool, taking with Stanley and Stanford and hearing their stories about growing up. Mabel had felt the eyes waiting for her the moment she stepped off the bus every year, but by now it was almost a part of her life as anything else was. Dipper was right, why worry when there was nothing really harming her?
Yet it was when she was sixteen that things changed, when her braces finally came off and she had more pimples than she would care to like. It was when she was awkward and when her limbs were too long, but she was still Mabel and wore sweaters in the middle of summer. It was when she was in Gravity Falls, and the feeling of constantly being watched had just faded into a part of her mind.
It seemed to go along with the eyes watching her movement. It was the shuddering feeling of fingers running through her hair. It was the feeling of someone standing right behind her, but when she turned there was nothing there. Suddenly eyes that had watched but faded into the background were right in front of her. Mabel jumped at every loud noise.
Now she knew something was wrong. Yet she didn't want to be brushed off again. Even as touches became more frequent and Mabel slowly became quieter and quieter. Dipper wasn't worried about it, and Mabel thought she shouldn't be either.
That first night back in Gravity Falls was the strangest. It was fingers that danced across her shoulder blades, it was the feeling of being watched, it was the sensation of hands just barely brushing her own.
"Hey there sweetie." Grunkle Stan had greeted. Mabel couldn't remember the last time that he had actually said her name and not an affectionate nickname, but she liked the nicknames better.
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel greeted back cheerfully, shuddering as a breeze passed by. It wasn't a moment that the breeze passed that Mabel jumped out of her skin, a small noise of fright leaving her lips as she felt fingers brushing the back of her neck.
"Mabes? You okay?" Dipper was already grabbing her stuff, though not without a sigh as Mabel rubbed her skin to get rid of the feeling.
"Why'd you touch my neck? Did I have something on it?"
Dipper gave her a strange look, and Mabel wondered if she had imagined it all. It was possible, after all, she had nothing on her neck, not even glitter for once. Mabel started getting the items, waving off Stan as he tried to help. He was too old to be bending down so far.
"I didn't touch your neck." Dipper had become more formal over the years, and whether he wanted admit it or not, he had modeled himself after Stanford. It was hard to not do that, when the two had stayed such great friends. Mabel was just happy he hadn't decided to become Stanford's apprentice.
"Must have been the wind." She shrugged off, feeling the eyes watching her, even more so than usual. Dipper and Stan didn't think anything was off, and Mabel noted how Stanford wasn't there. Probably working on an experiment.
It was even harder to fall asleep.
The same fingers she would jerk away from, which had followed her through the day, were the same fingers that tangled in her hair as she was about to fall asleep, and slowly stroked to try to lull her to relax. Mabel was as tense as a board, refusing to relax, and heart racing too hard to even think about sleeping.
Yet a long bus day of travel unpacking had exhausted her. She finally passed out when the moon was high, and was plagued with nightmares.
That was what became normal in her life. Mabel debated over telling Dipper more of what she had gone through, of the hand that would occasionally brush her own, and of the hand that would stroke her hair every night as she fell asleep.
Nightmares were almost constant. Every time she jumped when the hands brushed her, every night when she pressed her face against the pillow and tried to avoid the strange hand, she would have horrible nightmares. Maybe she was being haunted.
It was worth it to get a full night's rest if she just had to put up with simple touches. She didn't have nightmares if she didn't flinch away from the strange feelings, and Mabel quickly learned she had great dreams of color and glitter and everything that was hers. Mabel found herself leaning into the touches at time, but scolded herself for doing that. She should be stronger, she shouldn't give in.
Maybe she was just going crazy.
When summer was done, and Mabel had a bunch of new sweaters and three new scrapbooks, she was almost relieved. The eyes never followed her out of Gravity Falls, there was no reason why the touches would as well. If Dipper had noticed anything, he didn't say anything, and they got on the bus to Piedmont together, Dipper with his nose buried in another book he got from Stanford, and Mabel feeling the tugs at her hair as the hands tried to urge her off the bus.
"See you next summer!" Mabel leaned out the window, getting a glare from the bus driver, but she didn't care. All her friends were looking at her, waving back as brightly as she was.
"Can't wait!" They all seemed to reply in unison, and Dipper reached over to tug her back into the bus. Mabel laughed as she plopped down, feeling the hands urge her to get up and get off the bus. She didn't have to guess hard at what they wanted.
Whatever it was, a ghost or something else, it wanted her to stay in Gravity Falls.
Mabel stayed in place as the bus started, and talked to Dipper, and ignored the hands as they passed over the town line. The hands stopped. She had nightmares that night though.
For the first time since they had started their summer adventures, Mabel didn't want to go back to Gravity Falls. It was the thought of having to go back and deal with something she had no idea about, to have to wonder if she was just being paranoid and delusional. Yet with everything she had ever seen, she didn't think she was crazy.
It was like Dipper said, it hadn't hurt her, but that didn't make it pleasant to deal with.
The times when she had been thinking of Gravity Falls in a positive light, she found herself having pleasant dreams, but every time she thought about staying in Piedmont, she would have nightmares. Mabel didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't want to go back.
"Mom?" She ended up asking, the day before the bus ride to Gravity Falls. "I want to talk to you about something."
Mrs. Pines had always been a doting woman, and she looked up from her laptop as her daughter spoke to her. They were already sitting at the dining room table, Mabel working on another scrapbook and glitter all over her hands.
"What's wrong?" The woman immediately asked her, shutting her laptop closed. Mabel placed her hands on the table, unwilling to get up and wash them but wanting to show that her mom had her full attention.
"I… I don't want to go to Gravity Falls this summer." She confessed in a whisper, not sure how else to say it. Dipper always loved going to Gravity Falls, and it was something they looked forward to. Her mother frowned, brows furrowing together.
"You don't? Is something going on?" Mabel shook her head, not looking at her mother anymore. The more she thought about it, the more insane she thought it sounded.
"Can't I stay home this summer?" She pleaded, resisting the urge to hide her face in her hands. She would have been in sweater town if she was wearing a sweater.
"Well, dear, we already bought the bus tickets." Her mother immediately said, though Mabel knew she could win her over. "I'm just worried about Stan. He calls often, I think he gets lonely up there without you both there."
Mabel dropped her gaze at that, any fight going right out of her. She knew she lost the moment her mom brought up Stan. Her mom was right though, he was getting on in years. She might not have much time left to spend with him.
"Actually, it's pretty stupid. Not go to Gravity Falls? I can't break tradition!" Mabel smiled, and it must have been convincing since her mother smiled and nodded as she opened her laptop again.
Not much in the mood for scrapbooking anymore, she finished up what she was working on, and ignored the feeling of dread in her stomach. The dreams she had been having had actually been getting better, but she knew now she was going to fall asleep and have nightmares.
She wasn't wrong in the slightest. Mabel barely managed to keep the screams off her lips as she woke up early morning, and decided to stay awake for the last couple hours. She could sleep on the bus anyways.
It was a routine, coming back to Gravity Falls. Get off the bus, say hello, get home, unpack, eat dinner, pass out early. It wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't gotten so little sleep the night before, and then she couldn't sleep a wink on the bus.
"You've lost some weight since I've seen you last!" Stanley had said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I have?" Mabel glanced down at herself, as though that prove what Stanley was saying. Her clothes did seem to hang off her a little, but she didn't think it was too much.
Before she could say anything about it though, Dipper took Stanley aside, and started talking to him about the Mystery Shack. Not seeing anything, and with exhaustion still on her, she didn't want to fall asleep. The hands hadn't returned, and she didn't want to think about that.
"Mabel?" Stanford was suddenly there, and Mabel jumped with a startled cry. Stanford raised his hands in defense for a moment, as Mabel pressed a hand over heart to help calm it down. She could feel the racing beat, but even more, she could feel two hands running up and down her back as though to help calm her down. It did nothing to help.
"Yeah?" She ended up mumbling, and shifted awkwardly. "What's up?"
Stanford placed his hands behind his back, as he always had a tendency to do. Mabel crossed her arms over her chest, as though making herself smaller would make the hands harder to reach her.
"Just came up to see how you were doing." Stanford ended up saying. "You doing okay?"
Mabel just shrugged, struggling not to yawn. Now that she was back, the hands seemed to have missed her. Mabel just wanted a moment of peace.
"Yeah, I just haven't been sleeping well." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Nightmares, you know?"
The hand gave a rather rough tug at her hair, but at this point she didn't even wince. She was too used to it. Stanford was already nodding, searching through his jacket pockets. How many did he have? Mabel wasn't paying attention anymore.
"I have just the thing for you." Stanford produced a small, cloth chain, and hanging off the chain was a small, blue stone. It almost looked like a crystal, and only the hint of blue tainted it. Mabel could actually see through the stone.
"This is an old stone, I've had it for a very long time. It'll help you get peace." He held it out for her to take, and Mabel didn't hesitate, she reached out for it.
Don't.
Mabel froze, fingertips just a hair's breadth away from the stone. Did Stanford say that? No, she knew what her uncle sounded like, but she had never heard that voice before. Mabel was going crazy.
"You okay? Stanford asked, not pressing her to take it. "You don't have to take it if you don't want to."
Don't.
Mabel licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. She was going to have so many nightmares. Why couldn't she just reach out and take it? Mabel's hand inched forward.
Don't!
Her fingers closed around the stone, and before she could think about it she had the cloth chain clasped around her neck. Mabel wasn't sure what she was expecting, but nothing happened. Internally she cursed, because whatever nightmares she was going to get, they were going to happen tonight.
That wasn't a good decision.
Mabel bit her lip, thanking her uncle softly. The older man nodded, accepting her thanks without anything else, and quickly left her alone to go and find Dipper. He was probably going to see if Dipper wanted to play Dungeons, Dungeons, and more Dungeons, and hopefully, they wouldn't invite Mabel to play. She just wanted to be alone.
So many questions were on the tip of her tongue. Who was talking to her? Was she insane? Did she even want to reply to a voice that was talking to her? If she replied, it got a lot more real. She couldn't ignore it anymore, she couldn't pretend she wasn't crazy if she actually talked back.
Mabel needed sleep. She was willing to risk it if it meant she could get a couple decent hours of sleep. Grabbing her pillow and blanket from her bag, she idly scratched at her neck as she collapsed on the bed, and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.
She hadn't really moved much. She was still lying in bed as she opened her eyes, but strangely enough the ceiling wasn't the same color. It wasn't the same oak brown she had seen all of her summers, but a dull grey color. Mabel didn't want to get out of bed. Her neck itched, and she scratched it as she slowly sat up, noticing that everything was grey around her, everything was shades of white and black and grey, except for herself.
"Hello?" She swung her legs off the bed, feeling like she had slept a little bit. Maybe she had hit her head in her sleep. Mabel kept scratching at the itch in her neck. "Dipper? Stan?"
Silence, nothing but silence there. Mabel rubbed her eyes, one had still gently scratching at her neck as she tried to relieve the itch there. She slowly walked out of the attic, and moved downstairs. Everything was absolutely still, as though life had never been breathed into it.
"Hello?" The sound of her own voice was whispy, and seemed to echo around her. What was she missing? What was going on? Her neck still itched.
"Do you like how I decorated?" The voice that had visited her before, the one that she knew would be there, suddenly spoke right against her ear. Mabel flinched, but straightened herself a moment later.
There was really no difference besides the lack of color. She didn't want to disagree with the voice who had been talking to her though. Mabel bit back the comment that it would look better with color.
"The hands have a voice?" She could feel them against her now as she talked, and not just hands either.
The hands were on his hips, not touching anything other than just resting there, but still there. Mabel didn't pull away, because unlike before she could feel the tips of sharp claws digging into her as well. It wasn't even just hands on her, but she could feel the presence of someone behind her, standing right there with her back pressed against the front of something.
"The hands have a voice. The body's still in work, my Shooting Star." Her breathing hitched as she tried to look behind her, but her chin was held by those sharp claws, and she couldn't turn her head. Mabel didn't even struggle.
"Shooting Star?" Mabel kept scratching at her neck when she asked the question. This was it, she was going insane. Was she still dreaming? This had to be a dream.
"My Shooting Star." Once the voice realized she wasn't going to try to look at her, it let go, and it took Mabel a moment to realize she must have felt a third hand, as none of the ones on her hips had left her.
"Who are you?" Mabel didn't like staring at the grey living room anymore, and shut her eyes.
"Someone important to you." That was vague, but she didn't want to ask more if the voice didn't want to tell her, Something else was much more important anyways.
"What are you?"
She didn't get an answer. Instead this time a hand did leave her hip to grab her hand, and pull it away from her burning neck. The necklace her uncle gave her fell off a moment later, and the crystal clicked on the floor as it fell. Instantly her skin stopped itching, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don't want you wearing that anymore."
Mabel didn't have any arguments over that, especially since it was the necklace that seemed to set her neck on fire. She was so tired suddenly, and her eyes being shut didn't help. Mabel yawned, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"What do you want from me? It's been so many years, you scare me."
It came out as a mumbled whisper, and she swayed as she tried not to lean against the hands. They seemed to be the only things keeping her steady though. What did the voice want anyways? Mabel yawned again.
"I want you to love me."
Mabel woke that morning with a gasp, having slept the whole day away and then the night as well. For once she woke up before her brother, and got out of bed with a frantic scrubbing of her face. Had it been a dream? She could already feel the memory fading, and she sighed as she traveled to the bathroom.
She wasn't wearing her necklace anymore, but everywhere it had touched, she had a bright red rash. Mabel winced at how much it burned, she put some lotion on it after the shower, but it didn't help much.
Stanford didn't ask her about the necklace, and she didn't tell him about it. The crystal went into a drawer, and she ignored the hands that seemed to randomly place themselves over her. In fact, it just became a part of her life as the eyes did.
Yet things changed after that night. No longer was it silence, there was a voice that seemed to want to put in its opinion, and talk to her as though it was always right. Mabel found it easy to ignore, but it was hard at times. Often, it demanded to be heard.
Don't go that way.
You will not be going on a date with him.
Stay in Gravity Falls.
Your brother's wrong.
Go to bed early tonight.
Love me.
How much time did she spend asleep now? It seemed that's all she was doing now. Mabel didn't even think about following what the voice said anymore. It was too much of a pain to disobey. When she didn't follow direction, she had found herself lost in the woods with her brother, on the worst date of her life, and getting the worst nightmares.
Dipper didn't seem to notice that she spent so much time asleep. She felt as though she slept her whole summer sleeping, staying with the figure that wouldn't let her look at him, but still there. Always there. Every night, it even asked the same questions. She tuned that out as well.
Why don't you want to stay with me?
Why don't you stay in Gravity Falls?
Do you love me?
Love me.
Yet how could she love what she has never seen? When she turned eighteen, it was at the end of the summer, and she had already graduated high school. Her mother laughed when Mabel told her that she wasn't going back home, that she planned to stay in Gravity Falls and take care of Stan.
"Remember when you didn't want to go there? Silly, I knew you loved it there."
That had been it. Dipper was going to college, and Mabel heard more times than she could count that everyone thought it would be reversed. Dipper had loved Gravity Falls, after all. Mabel just laughed them off, saying she wanted to stay.
She always slept. She spent more time doing that than seeing the sun. Stan was starting to send her concerned looks, but she ignored it. Mabel still ate, she was still healthy, she just slept constantly. It was as though she wasn't really sleeping at all, but jumping into another world.
One night she was sitting in the lap of the figure, feeling it stroke their fingers through her hair as she relaxed. Too much time had passed for her to feel fear over this, and as long as she didn't do anything wrong, she knew nothing more would happen.
"Can I know your name?" She sighed as the hands paused, and wondered if she was even allowed to ask. "Please?"
It was a moment before the figure replied back.
"Bill. My body's almost done, and then we can finally be together."
Mabel didn't comment. How sad she had already accepted this kind of life. What could she do though? She saw him every time she slept, he wouldn't leave her alone. There was nothing she was allowed to do on her own anymore, he was always there.
"Why me?"
She didn't get a response, not that she ever did with that question. Fingers moved from her hair to wrap around her neck. Mabel flinched back, but there was no where to go, and she couldn't get away from the fingers as they wrapped firmly around there.
Yet they didn't squeeze, didn't cut off her air, but instead pulled away, and left a heavy chain around her neck. Mabel was actually relieved that she hadn't been choked.
"Why anything. Do you love me?"
She supposed that once she answered that would be the day that she received her answer over why she was chosen. A long time ago she had come to the conclusion that she was dealing with something very powerful, something that shouldn't be trifled with. Perhaps she was just too tired to try to fight anymore.
"Don't leave me alone for too long, my Shooting Star. Why go astray for a long time, when you can be happy with me right now?"
Was she happy? Mabel didn't know. Content seemed a better word. Mabel shrugged a little bit, feeling herself start to stir. The sensation of waking up when she had really been asleep was something she would never get used to.
"See you later, Shooting Star."
Stanley Pines was getting on in years. At some point his cane had changed from being a decorative item to something he actually needed to walk. His cataracts were gone, his sight blurry even with the strongest glasses he could buy. Yet still he knew when something was off.
Specifically, he knew something was off with Mabel. She had changed over the years, and he understood that, especially since he had changed so much over the years. Dipper had talked to Stanley a couple times about it, but he had reassured Dipper that nothing more was going on than a phase.
Except it didn't seem like a phase. Mabel spent so much time asleep, she didn't knit, she didn't do any of her regular Mabel things. At times, it was like she was listening to a voice that wasn't there, and other times she could be seen actually talking back.
He worried over his little sweetheart. He still remembered the bright girl who first came to spend summer with him, and who helped him get his brother back. Time changed everything, but that little girl was gone, and a different woman was left in her place.
It was seeing her one day, rubbing at her neck as though she just felt something, that Stan decided he couldn't wait anymore. This wasn't getting any better on its own. It had been too long since he had seen Mabel make her famous Mabel Juice, but he had the recipe memorized. Dipper had actually written it down for him somewhere, but Stanley had made it his mission to memorize everyone's favorite food.
"Mabel, sweetie, can you come here for a moment?" He called, wondering if she was asleep, again. It wouldn't be a surprise.
He didn't have to go and try to get up the stairs as he heard her feet pattering down, and Stanley happily showed off the concoction of sparkles and tiny plastic dinosaurs. For just a moment, he saw it, the tiny spark of life that lit up her features and made her look like she did when she was young.
"I made it just for you. Remember when we used to drink this all the time?" Stanley poured them both a glass, making sure he gave her more. He wouldn't really drink much, since just a little of that stuff would be enough to give him a heart attack.
She practically skipped over to him, a bright smile on her lips. Yet she hesitated as she looked at the glass, fingers just barely an inch from it.
Don't drink that.
Mabel's smile fell a little, hand falling. "Sorry, Grunkle Stan, I'm just not feeling up for it."
Stan's smile fell as well, and he sat down heavily at the kitchen table, cane between his knees. He didn't drink any of his own yet, gesturing for Mabel to sit down with him. At least she did that.
"Are you doing okay, pumpkin? You've been sleeping a lot lately." Stanley asked as Mabel took the glass between her hands, as though she could drink it through osmosis.
"I'm just tired." She seemed to react almost automatically as she said that. Mabel leaned her head to the side, feeling the same hands in her hair.
Don't drink that, Shooting Star. You should go upstairs and sleep.
"I'm tired, Grunkle Stan, I think I'm going to go up to bed." Mabel murmured, watching the condensation appear on the glass. She couldn't look at Stanley. The conman had been through a lot in life, but nothing spiked his concern more than Mabel completely avoiding him.
"You can talk to me about everything, you know that, right sweetie?" Stanley kept his voice soft, and watched as Mabel pulled out a frown and glared at her drink.
Don't you dare.
Mabel couldn't bring herself to bring the glass to her lips and drink. She drew a small star on the condensation on the glass.
"I'm just not thirsty. Maybe we can watch a movie? I think they're showing The Duchess Approves on tv tonight." Mabel offered instead. Stanley coughed into his fist, trying to act like he didn't like it, but she saw his face light up like hers had.
"That stupid movie? Well, if you insist." Stanley struggled to get to his feet, and Mabel went over to help him as well. She couldn't remember when that started, helping him stand, but it made her sad to think he was getting old.
Good girl.
She ignored how she stood up a little bit taller at the praise whispered in her ear, and that she felt a bit of pride wash over her.
It wasn't halfway through the movie when she found herself nodding off. Mabel fought against it for the first time in a while, wanting to spend time with her uncle, who was completely absorbed in the old movie.
"After this is over." She whispered, and thankfully Stan's hearing had gone as his sight had, and he didn't hear her.
Now. Are you arguing against me?
"No, I just want to spend time with my uncle. I'm always sleeping now." Mabel almost whined. "Please, Bill?"
She hardly ever used his name, and she hardly ever talked to him. The feeling of hands in her hair almost made her jump, but she managed to stay still. Bill's hands slowly stroked her hair as they always did when he wanted to urge her into sleep, and it worked like a charm. Mabel didn't have it in her to fight or argue, lest she get Stan's attention, and she curled up and fell asleep on the couch.
As she was already sitting in Bill's lap and listening to him coo about what a good girl she was for listening, Stanley finally turned his gaze from the movie to look at his niece. She was asleep, again, but that didn't really surprise him. He was surprised she made it though as much of the movie as she did. He flipped the television off, getting up with a bit of a struggle.
Once he was on his feet he draped a blanket over Mabel, and headed down to the area he never went to in the day time. He went to the basement. Stanford had claimed it as his own, and Stanley didn't intrude on that. Yet he didn't know who else to talk to about this. Dipper was too busy with college to call and bother him with problems.
"Ford?" He called once he got to the basement. The old area was covered in dust and grime, obviously in need for a good cleaning.
"What?" Stanford was anything but joyous to see his brother down there. "What's wrong?"
Stanley sighed, leaning heavily on his cane. They both knew something was wrong with Mabel, but Stanley felt he knew more about it than Stanford did. After all the other Pines brother spent all of his time down in the basement.
"It's Mabel." Stanley eventually said. "You gotta do something. Get your nerd books or something. She won't drink that juice she likes, she hardly eats, she doesn't do anything other than sleep!"
Stanford hadn't been paying attention at the time, looking down at the project he was doing until Stanley mentioned sleeping all the time. Instantly his gaze was on his brother, flipping through the pages of his journals.
"Sleeping? Does she get nightmares anymore?"
"She was having nightmares?" Stanley was too old for this. He had hoped his adventures were done for his life, but it seemed that wasn't the case. Mabel was dealing with something unlike anything he had ever encountered.
"I gave her a crystal to keep them away. Is she still wearing it?" It had been a couple years ago, but there was no reason why she wouldn't still be wearing it.
Stanford didn't have to ask, as they both seemed to get the same idea, and together traveled up the stairs together. Stanley was huffing and puffing by the time that they reached the top, but Stanford didn't help his brother out.
The young woman was still asleep on the couch, curled up impossibly small, as though she was determined to take up as little space as possible. Stanford moved over, staying silent as he tried to reach out and touch his niece.
Yet a moment later his hand was falling back, and a small, shocked cry left his lips. Mabel kept sleeping as though nothing was going on, and blisters appeared on Stanford's skin.
"This is bad." Stanford muttered. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
Stanley was shocked, and immediately bit back a reply, and the two started to argue, not notice how Mabel was starting to stir from her sleep.
In her dreams, Mabel was happy. Even if she couldn't see the figure who asked her if she loved him. Bill always showered her in affection, and tried to make her happy. Mabel was happy, as long as she kept doing what he told her to do.
"I have a surprise for you." He told her after she fell asleep in the middle of the movie. It wasn't her favorite movie, so she didn't mind.
"You do?" She had been sitting in his lap, feeling as he felt him play with her hair. Once, she had tried cutting it, but Bill had been against that. She hadn't cut it since.
"Close your eyes."
Mabel obeyed, feeling him rise and place her on her feet. She waited patiently for him, for the first time feeling him move from behind her to in front of her. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, making her itch with anticipation.
"Open them."
Mabel opened her eyes, and gasped at the sight before her. She had never seen someone so handsome before. Without permission, though not feeling like she had to ask for it, she reached out and placed her hands on his chest, confirming that he was really standing before her.
Bill placed his hands over her own, his dark skin complimenting her own. His hair was a soft gold color, his eyes matching that perfectly. Mabel was smitten with love at first sight, and she wondered what took him so long to show this to her.
"Do you love me?"
For the first time, silence wasn't her answer. Yet her pause seemed to take too long for him.
"Love me."
"I love you."
Bill Cipher was a lot of things. He was a demon. He was a power fiend. He could lie and cheat and do anything he wanted. Of all things though, he was the best chess player he ever met. No human had ever managed to beat him before.
So when he set his sights on a young girl, she really had no chance in the matter. The entire task was taking it slow. He started just watching her until she was older, when he felt like she could handle more.
He still remembered when he first touched her hair, that gorgeous long hair, and watched her jump and cringe away from him. Bill had laughed even though no one was there to hear it, and kept at it. It didn't take long for her to learn the responses he wanted to see, to do what he wanted just so that it would make him happy.
Finally, he had a strong enough bond to send her nightmares whenever she thought about not returning to Gravity Falls. She got nightmares for everything that she did that he didn't like. He didn't want her dating, so suddenly the boy crazy girl wasn't even thinking about dating anyone. She started eating healthier. She slept more, even during the time she wasn't in Gravity Falls.
He still remembered when he first let her hear his voice. She had learned even faster after that. The sudden voice whispering to her, and Mabel was thinking she was really crazy. Her idiotic brother wasn't helping her at all, and as such helped Bill more than he would have liked.
Bill Cipher was creating the perfect pet.
The day she lived in Gravity Falls permanently was a day to be celebrated. Bill sent her good dreams that night. He never had to go without his favorite anymore.
Mabel Pines was just another human that a demon had set his sights on. The poor human hadn't stood a chance from the moment he decided he wanted her. Bill looked down at her as she laid in his lap.
In truth his human form had been done for years. Bill had just wanted to use the excuse that when she finally realized she 'loved' him, that the power of her love brought his form to life. Humans were so easily to manipulate.
Bill grinned down at her as she finally confessed her love, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her gently. He could feel her melting against him, completely content in her place in his arms. Even though in the real world her family was freaking out, wondering what was wrong with her.
"Stay with me." Bill kept his voice light and wispy, as it always had been. He still bent down so that they were even, and Bill pressed another kiss to her lips. She whimpered when he pulled away again.
"Yes." She leaned up to try to get another kiss, as though she was starved for them. Mabel whined when he wouldn't let her.
"You can stay with me, all you have to do is wake up, and walk out of the Shack. I'll be waiting for you, my Shooting Star."
Mabel woke slower that she had in ages, hearing her uncle's fight above her. It was strange to hear, actually, as though it wasn't really happen. Before, she had felt like she was sleeping when she was with Bill, but now she felt as though she was sleeping in the real world and awake when she was with Bill.
"Mabel." Stanford breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't reach out for her. "Mabel, please don't tell me, it's not him, it's not Bill."
Mabel rubbed her eyes as she tried to get to her feet. She was so tired. She needed to sleep, to lay down and get more time with Bill. Yet his instruction rang clear through her mind, she needed to walk out of the Shack.
"You know Bill?" That got her attention, even as she still rose from her seat. Stanford's face fell, and he placed himself in front of her so that she wouldn't walk away from him.
"Mabel, you're not going anywhere." Stanford spoke firmly, hands going out like he was going to touch her. He paused right before he touched skin though. "He's a demon, he doesn't care about you."
Lies.
Mabel shook her head. "You don't know him."
"Don't I?" Stanford shoved his hand, the non blistered one, and pulled out his journal. "Does he give you nightmares if you don't behave? Does he ask if you love him? Does he let you date anyone or do any of the things you would have normally?"
Mabel couldn't look up from the floor that suddenly seemed very interesting. She answered all of the questions in her head, but didn't say anything aloud. Her silence was enough to make her answers clear.
Shooting Star, don't listen to him. He's just a bitter old man who doesn't want you to have what he couldn't. Come outside, I'm waiting for you.
Mabel just wanted to sleep. Stanley stood behind his brother, obviously going to stop her if she tried to go out. For the first time in years, she felt true fear penetrate her over what she would do. If she couldn't get outside, he would punish her. Bill had a physical form now, nothing could stop him.
"I have to go outside." She shoved her hands in her sweater pocket. "Please let me through."
"No." Stanford opened the journal to the page he had on Bill. Dried flecks of blood decorated the page. "He doesn't care about you Mabel. It's just an act."
Mabel clenched her hands into fists, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Couldn't they see she needed to leave?
"He doesn't love you."
Shooting Star, don't you dare! He's lying! Love me!
Mabel clutched her head, almost sobbing from the overwhelming feeling of desperation she had. She wasn't crazy, Bill was real and a demon who attached himself to her. She felt tears prick at her eyes as she stepped away and back against the wall.
Love me! Get outside and come to me! Love me!
"You're safe, he can't hurt you now." Stanley wasn't sure how deep into this Mabel was, but she was outright sobbing, and he needed to be there for his niece. Mabel stared at him, lip quivering for a moment before she threw herself at him in a hug.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Mabel could still hear Bill screaming at her.
"You're safe, you're safe." For the first time in many years, the brothers hugged as they enveloped Mabel in safety and comfort.
Bill Cipher was a demon who got what he wanted. He had tricked and lied and worked for years, though human years were nothing more than a blink of an eye to him.
He watched as Mabel collapse into the arms of her family, knowing all his work just went down the drain.
Bill screamed in frustration, slamming his first against the glass portal that let him see his Shooting Star. It shattered into a thousand pieces.
He wasn't supposed to lose. He never lost. He always came out on top. Yet he couldn't pull her into the Mindscape anymore, he couldn't pull and tug at her thoughts. A string of control went both ways, and she had just severed her end.
Bill Cipher just lost.
END NOTES: I can honestly say that I didn't really include how much abuse Mabel was put through. Constant nightmares if she didn't behave and do as Bill asked. She always had him ordering her about, especially after she came back to Gravity Falls permanently.